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Manchester City may keep their cash in the bank and target Fulham free agent Brede Hangeland if they fail to lure John Terry from Chelsea.

Brede Hangeland

Eastlands officials have had a £30million offer for the England captain rejected by the FA Cup winners but are likely to succeed if they increase their audacious bid to £40m.

It then depends whether 29-year-old Terry is prepared to accept nearly three times his salary and bank more than £300,000 each week but miss out on the chance of Champions League and probably Premier League glory this season.

If he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge and cement his legacy with the King’s Road club, City boss Mark Hughes may then make the short trip to Fulham to do his business.

The Cottagers have offered Norway international Hangeland a fresh contract which doubles his wages but after seeming to be on the verge of continuing his stay on the banks of the Thames he has yet to put pen to paper.

Tottenham and Arsenal are also interested in the centre-half, who was one of the best central defenders in the Premier League last season and one of the prime reasons Fulham qualified for Europe.

Spurs need a quality reinforcement alongside Michael Dawson in case either Ledley King or Jonathan Woodgate suffer long-term injuries this season while the Gunners also need to strengthen their rearguard after looking soft at the back at times last term.

New Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti officially takes charge at Stamford Bridge this morning and his first job will be to hold crunch talks with Terry, who is alleged to have stayed in the same Dubai hotel as City boss Mark Hughes before their bid was spurned.

Hughes has also been linked with a move for 31-year-old Barcelona defender Carlos Puyol if he fails to land Terry but the Catalans are unlikely to allow him to leave despite his age and the chance to make some cash.

Arsenal have put a £40m price tag on midfielder Cesc Fabregas as they prepare themselves for a bid from Barcelona or Real Madrid.

And Tottenham have held talks with former Real Madrid striker Luis Figo. Spurs boss Harry Redknapp met him at Bobby Robson’s recent charity golf event in a Spain and has asked the 36-year-old to come out of retirement.

Tottenham officials have also been in Spain for talks with Real Madrid about Alvaro Negredo, the 23-year-old striker who is wanted by Liverpool if they sell Xavi Alonso to the Primera Liga club.

Still with Spurs, and Sevilla are set to resume their interest in Ivory Coast midfielder Didier Zokora while Panathinaikos are ready to battle Blackburn Rovers for utility defender Pascal Chimbonda.

Sunderland are stepping up their interest in Darren Bent, Tottenham’s leading scorer last season, while Black Cats manager is also keen on Portsmouth forward Peter Crouch and Paraguay defender Paulo Da Silva.

Birmingham are willing to pay £25,000-a-week to take Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton on loan for the season – but that is less than half of what the 26-year-old earns at St James’ Park. And Stoke, Wolves and Blackburn are all interested in 33-year-old striker Mark Viduka, who is a free agent after leaving Newcastle United.

Burnley manager Owen Coyle is interested in 29-year-old French winger Fabrice Pancrate, who is a free agent after his contract with Paris St Germain expired.

And Wisla Krakow forward Pawel Brozek is in talks with Fulham over a possible £3.5m move to Craven Cottage with manager Roy Hodgson also keen on former Liverpool forward Luis Garcia after he was given permission to leave Atletico Madrid.

And finally, Hull City are on the verge of signing former Portsmouth and Arsenal full-back Lauren, who is without a club after being released by Pompey.